The Historic McFarland House will be hosting its first-ever Girls’
Night Out event Friday.

For the inaugural Girls’ Night event, guests will be
learning how to prepare summer cocktails, with a special McFarland House twist.
Chef Brad will be leading a hands-on appetizer demo, so be prepared to get a
little messy (if you’re up for it).

Of course, generous samples of the summer cocktails and
appetizers will be served.

What else is happening at Girls’ Night Out? Where there are
drinks, there is music, so be prepared for an awesome DJ. And dress to impress
for the photographer and photo booth.

Grab a friend (or a few), and get your tickets at
HistoricMcFarlandHouse.com.

If you’ve been lucky enough to visit the Historic McFarland House
in downtown Martinsburg, then you know exactly what the excitement is about.

The beautifully restored Victorian home has been a wedding
venue for years and is now becoming known for its private dining club, led by
the spectacular Executive
Chef Brad Spates. The 2009 winner of Iron Chef and a contestant on Bravo’s
Top Chef, Brad will once again appear on Top Chef this fall.

The McFarland House has started hosting monthly events like Date
Nights, cooking demos and other monthly culinary events that are quite a change
from the typical dining scene in Martinsburg and certainly well worth the
visit.

Girls’ Night Out is the McFarland House’s most recent
addition to its monthly event lineup.

Saturday evening, en route to The Nutcracker, my date and I ventured out into what had become a Wild, Wonderful, winter wonderland, to drop by Final Cut Steakhousefor some festive holiday cocktails and overly indulgent appetizers.

Final Cut is located on the main floor of Hollywood Casinoin Charles Town, WV; this steakhouse is heralded as one of the standout dining destinations in the tri-state area, and this accolade is reflected as the restaurant is set on somewhat of a pedestal within the casino. However, like 9 Dragons, once you're in the restaurant, the chaos of the casino disappears and allows you to enjoy an intimate dining experience prior to testing your relationship with Miss Lady Luck.

When the weather outside is frightful, I find martinis most delightful for warming oneself from the inside out. After perusing the cocktail menu (otherwise known as playing around on the iPad that's placed on every table), we selected and sipped the Peppermint Patty and the Pumpkin Manhattan. The Peppermint Patty consists of peppermint and white chocolate liquors, a generous dollop of whipped cream, and a drizzle of chocolate. After one sip, you most definitely "get the sensation" -- this drink is liquid candy served straight up. Traditional Manhattans can be a tad too manly for many; however, the Pumpkin Manhattan (spiced whiskey, liquor 43, pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon cream) mixes things up to give you a cocktail that's sippably sweet with just a nip of whiskey that will make you feel warm and fuzzy, as you go "mmmmmm that's tasty!"

The decadent nature of our drinks definitely left us with a "we ate dessert first" feeling (which is never a bad thing), but that really just prepped our palettes for some savory eats. The new Prime Steak & Egg appetizer was a must-try, and then our waiter recommend we try the Cobb Salad, as Final Cut's Cobb is a far cry from what you'd find at your corner deli! Both plates were not only mouth-watering, but the presentation alone was enough to have you drooling like an English bulldog. For the Steak & Egg appetizer, we ordered the steak medium rare. The steak was so tender you hardly needed your pearl-handled steak knife, and while the inner part of the meat melted in your mouth, the outside had a slightly salted crust to give you just the perfect amount of crunch. The potato & egg tower, which the boy referred to as a castle, was quite the royal treat, but the castle quickly came tumbling down when I poked the perfectly poached egg with a forkful of potato. After obliterating the kingdom of hash, it was time to tackle our Cobb "Salad" -- I put salad in quotes, as this Cobb was anything but a bowl of lackluster lettuce. What arrived at our table, looked almost like a prosciutto-wrapped yule log with bits of green popping out the ends. Stuffed with lettuce, blue cheese, red onion, and ham, our stick of salad was then topped with buttermilk garlic dressing, and accompanied by chopped tomatoes, more blue cheese, and a hard-boiled quail egg. This is definitely not a dieters delight, but the unique presentation, paired with high-end ingredients, make this "salad" something you'll want to order, even after that New Year's resolution to eat healthy ;)

Thanks to the generous people at Hollywood Casino, that night, as we settled our brains for a long winters nap, it was visions of steaks, not sugar plums, dancing in our heads.

If you're planning a visit to Final Cut, price points for dinner tend to fall into the "special occasion" category. However, if you're looking for all the fancy flavor on a post-holiday budget, just head to the bar! At the bar, you'll find plenty of tasty treats for under $20 and if you're there between 5PM and 7PM, cocktails are 1/2 priced!

Saturday, August 3, German Street in Shepherdstown, WV, is going to transform into Grammy-esque scene, with a touch of Oscar class and maybe a smidge of MTV Movie Award mayhem. If you hadn't guessed, the theme for the 4th Annual Identity Crissisis Red Carpet. Whether you choose to channel Grace Kelly or one of the Kardashians is up to you, just so long as you're prepped and paparazzi-ready perfect.

For those not familiar with this a-mazing even, Identity Crisis is an annual fundraiser that floods downtown Shepherdstown with a sea of "strangers" scampering about town, cavorting for a cause. Last year's event raised over $2600 for Breast Cancer Awareness. Breast Cancer Awareness-Cumberland Valleywill also be the designated charity for this year's event.

Participating venues throughout town will be offering drink deals (beaucoup de bubbly), dance tunes (bands, DJ, etc.), and of course you can expect to be walking quite a few actual red carpets. Did I mention there will be paparazzi too? Just like J.Lo and Angelina, you too will be posing for pictures. Specially designated "Press" will be scampered throughout town to capture all of your finest award-winning moments. Just hope your antics don't land you a headline on the latest gossip blog ;)

Friday, July 12, will mark the debut of Front Porch Live -- a new music series set to bring some pretty fab tunes to Tap House Sports Barin Charles Town, WV! Shows will be held on Friday nights throughout the summer, and each evening will kick off with a happy hour starting at 6PM on the Tap House patio which will include both food and beverage specials.

For Friday's grand opening, guests can energize themselves with $1 frosty drafts and $.45 wings, prior to dancing their pants off to DELTAnine & Hubble Bash!!! This will be my first Hubble Bash experience; however, the interwebs are still buzzing their last night set at Blueberry Jam Fest back in June, so I'm quite intrigued to say the least. As for DELTAnine, not only do they put on a great show, but their new album Igenous Rock has been a constant on my playlist since the day the album dropped.

Tickets for this show are priced super friendly at only $5 before 9PM and $10 thereafter. You can also snag the special price by purchasing your tickets in advance via www.theticketchoice.com

As for the rest of this summer, you can check out the full lineup after the break, and I promise you, it most certainly doesn't disappoint!

Saturday, June 29 is Shepherdstown, WV's annual, FREE Street Fest! This day-long celebration turns downtown Shepherdstown into a virtual playground for kids of all ages with 2 stages of music, vendors galore, a kids camp for the little kiddos, and a beer garden for the big kids. ;)
This year's music line-up is not to be missed; featured acts include, The Woodshedders, On the Bus, Big Leg Emma, The Hillbilly Gypsies, Johnny Neel, and more! For the full music schedule, CLICK HERE.

For those looking to keep the party going Saturday evening, Sacred Groove will be taking the stage at Opera House Live Tabasco Bustelo will be playing downstairs at Tony's.

I've attended the past two Street Fests and every year has been a blast: this an extremely well-run event right down to the last detail. And did I mention it's FREE?!